Trail Tech - Wheel Spacers

We were running this trail near Minden Ontario two weekends ago and the conditions were really slick.  All the rain we had been getting over the last few weeks made for lots of mud and reduced visibility as to what might be on the trail.  Sure enough we come to this one muddy patch that ended with a small ledge about a foot high.  The first jeep in our group, which was a lifted LJ made it through no problem.  The next jeep, a two door jk on 35’s proceeded to tackle the messy thick mud stretch and almost made it.  The jeep got right to the ledge and then it happened.  The side wall punctured.  We look and look to try and find what caused the puncture but with all the thick mud it was impossible to determine the culprit. 

Jeep JK Stuck in the mud in Minden Ontario

After making it over the ledge we spent a few moments changing the tire before coming to the realization that all the other jeeps in our group where tj with 4.5 bolt pattern while the jk’s use a 5.5 bolt pattern. Taking the safe approach we decided to turn around and head out of the trail and not risk another puncture since we didn’t have a compatible spare within our group. 

My 2004 Jeep TJ Rubicon getting ready to tackle the mud in Minden Ontario

This situation made me realize how easily this problem could have been avoided.  I am now keeping my eye out for a used wheel spacer adaptor to convert the tj’s 4.5” bolt pattern to the new JK’s 5.5 and vice versa.  I figure that many of the people I am wheeling with are now moving towards the newer jeeps, it would be nice to have the peace of mind and ability to switch in a JK spare tire if this unfortunate situation occurs again in the future, and I am sure it will.  I just don’t want to be the one asking the group to turn back when I get a flat.

Jeep JK wheeling the mud in Minden Ontario

In the end it was another great day on the trail with no serious issues, and I am looking forward to the next opportunity to wheel with such a great group of people.

Jeep Roll Bar Fire Extinguisher Mount

That’s right.  The title of the post says it all.  After one of my first offroading experiences I realized that I needed some pretty standard safety equipment just as an insurance policy.  After coming up with a list of items that I felt I needed I came across the problem of where to store some of them?  I had seen people do this before where they purchase a mount that would securely hold their fire extinguisher to the roll bar.  Of course I quickly pulled out my laptop and started searching for brackets and decided that my budget was too small to purchase one.  So here is where my creativity kicked in.

When you buy a fire extinguisher they usually come with a plastic mount that can be used to secure the extinguisher to a wall.  With a few cheap pieces of hardware and about 30 minutes of your time you can modify the existing mount for your Jeep roll bar.

To start you are going to need 2 hose clamps that are large enough to go around your roll bar.  I am not 100% sure but I think I used a 4” hose clamp.  You will also need two small bolts that would be able to go through the existing holes in the plastic extinguisher mount and 2 nuts that would fit the bolts.  It is important that the bolts are just a bit longer then the depth of the hole on the plastic mount.

JeepGeek getting stuck at TrailFest 2010

Once you have all the parts it is as simple as turning on a light switch to make your new mount.  Take the two hose clams and place the plastic mount on top of them.  It is important to remember that when you tighten the clamps the extra metal will need space to move, so make sure you don’t position the mount in a way that would prevent you from tightening the clamps. 

When you have found the right place on the hose clamps to mount your plastic bracket, take a pair of wire cutters and cut out two or three of the teeth in the hose clamp in the center of the space you want to position the mount.  Then take your bolts and push them through the plastic mount and then through the hose clamp and secure them in place with the nut.  That’s all it takes.

Fire Extinguisher mounted on rear roll bar of 2004 Jeep TJ Rubicon

Now remember I said to make sure the bolts are just long enough to clear the depth of the mount holes?  The reason for this is so when you tighten the hose clamps around your roll bar you will not puncture the fabric roll bar padding.  Now all you have to do is find a good space on your roll bar to secure your new mounts.

 JeepGeeks fire extinguisher mounted between sound bar on Jeep TJ Rubicon  roll bar

I first secured mine to the rear driver side part of the roll bar just below the rear seatbelt mount.  It was nicely located for easy reach on the trail and was right by the gas filler cap.  Since I first installed it I have added a few more homemade mounts to my roll bar and have relocated it to right between the two sound bars over head.  This keeps the extinguisher dry when I have my bikini top on and also allowed me to free up the rear roll bars for a hi lift mount.  I will be posting my hi lift mount instructions in the near future.  So make sure you keep checking back for updates.  

Offroading in Minden Ontario Water Crossing May 2-4 2011

CB Radio Installation

Well one of the more recent modifications that I made to my jeep has been the addition of a CB radio.  Over the last 2 years I have been getting into wheeling and the importance of having a radio has been obvious.  Being able to communicate with the other jeeps in your group makes the trail experience even more enjoyable.  You get to point out new obstacles and describe the best line to follow to others, and ask for help and just joke around with your friends.  This easy upgrade is a must for any trail rig.

So what are the steps in selecting and installing the proper CB radio in your jeep.  My experience with this has been full of frustration and annoyance.  The decision to go through with this install was an impulse for me.  I had been using a hand held Cobra CB for the first year of wheeling but its limitation became obvious to me the first time I needed some real range.  Meeting some friends at a remote campsite that I had never been to before almost led to a disastrous weekend.  My girlfriend and I drove right pass the trail turn off to the site and we kept going for about 45 minutes down a power line service road before we realized something was wrong.  We were supposed to radio our group when we got on the trail but the little handheld cb just didn’t cut it.  The range was not great enough to contact our friends and finally after over an hour we manage to get a faint signal on the radio and we realized we had gone way too far.  Thankfully one of the guys in our group had a radio with great range and he instructed us to turn around and he met us on the trail and guided us right to the site.

Learning from this experience I decided I was going to need a real cb radio.  Over the winter I did not think about it much since the jeep was in storage but come spring the thought began to enter my mind.  I had told myself that its gonna cost me a few hundred dollars and it could wait.  But on my way to London Ontario one weekend, where my club is based out of, I received some emails from friends saying they were going to spend the long holiday weekend installing their cb’s.  So I stopped in at a truck stop and did a little bit of shopping.  My first piece of advice for you is don’t make your cb purchases on a whim and make sure you purchase your equipment from a supplier close to you and on a weekend that you know they will be open.  This is very important.

So things to consider when you are making your purchases for your cb equipment.  First thing is to start from the antenna and work your way to the radio.  I decided that the best place to mount my antenna would be the rear tire carrier.  I didn’t want to drill into the body and I had seen some people mount them on the tire carrier and I really liked the look.  Having the antenna mounted near the center of the jeep also helps with the quality of the signal.  Also when selecting an antenna you need to consider the height of the antenna.  Because I live in a city where underground parking is common I needed to make sure I would still be able to park underground.  Your antenna should also be taller than the vehicle making sure to clear the roofline or on our jeeps, the roll cage.  I decided to go with a 4ft. antenna but that was not  untill after I experienced some problems which I will get to later in this post.

Next thing is to choose your cable.  I originally purchased the most expensive cable thinking that it was going to be good for the reception.  I also selected a length that would allow me to run the cable to the front of the cab.  I selected an 18ft length that would give me enough to hide all the cable and still reach the front consul.  After talking to a friend of mine who is an avionics technician, he informed me that my cable was way overkill and that it would not be a good fit for my application.  This is where having a truck stop or cb supplier nearby and open on the weekends is important.  I ended going with a RG-58 cable and am really happy I returned the more expensive one and got $20 back from the exchange.  I have not had any issues with the quality of my signal after tuning so that extra money was better left in my pocket.

When selecting my radio the main criterion for me was price.  I had done some searching online over the winter just to see what it would cost and I knew I could get a good radio for cheap at a London Ontario surplus store.  Make sure you choose a name brand radio if your doing any wheeling.  I am not saying that a lesser brand would not do the job, but you want to make sure that your radio will be able to put up with the dust and bumping around and abuse that it will get on the trail.  I wanted to go with another cobra that was listed on the website of the surplus store but unfortunately they were sold out that weekend.  So I went with a Midland radio that was small and compact and still a good name brand that is proven and has a good 3 year warranty.  The radio was around the $50 price range and is surprisingly loud which is great for when you have the top down.

So now we will get to the installation.  Since I wanted to do this all on a budget I purchased an antenna, mount, and cable kit at a local truck stop.  The mount is a mirror mount that only requires two bolts to secure it.  The antenna was a 3ft and the cable that came with was a 6 foot.  The main reason I purchased the kit was it was cheaper to get the mount and antenna together then to purchase separate.  Let me tell you its not always best to go the cheap rout which I found out.  So I started with the antenna mount.  I took the back plate off the mount that is used to secure the mount to a mirror bracket and lined up the mount on the tire carrier where I felt it would work best.  I used a set of vice grips to hold the mount in place and drilled through the holes on the bracket through the tire carrier.  This method ensured that the mounting bolts would be spaced properly.  I secured the mount with the provided hardware and then installed the 3ft antenna on top.  By starting at the mounting point of the antenna you can start to run the cable to where you want your cb radio.

CB Antenna mirror mount attached to the rear tire carrier of 2004 Jeep TJ Rubicon

I looked at different mounting locations for the radio and felt that on the center consul driver side by the 4wd shifter was the best location.  I looked at mounting it in the armrest which would be difficult to change channels and adjust; I looked at mounting it on the back of the consul above the rear cup holders.  This location made it difficult to change channels, see what channel you are on and also removed the function of your rear cup holders, and I looked at mounting it on the dash which was just an eye sore.  So I went with down low.

CB Antenna cable running into Jeep TJ Rubicon cab through soft top and ground wire to rear light

So now that I have the antenna mount in place and I know where the cb will be mounted I started the process of running the cable.  I didn’t want to drill any holes in the body and the hole for the brake light cable was too small to feed the end of the cable through.  So I zip tie the cable to the hinge of the back door (after wrapping it with a flexible tubing) and ran the cable through the gap in the soft top where the window meets the fabric.   Now my jeep does not have any carpet in it since the previous owner decided to paint bedliner inside the tub so I couldn’t just hide the cable under the carpet.

CB Antenna Cable running through the soft top and up through the roll bar padding

I decided to run the cable up the roll cage and down the front windshield on the passenger side then down behind the dash.  To do this you will need to remove your sound bar to unzip the padding on your roll bar.  Once you do this take off the padding and start running the cable up the roll bar.  A suggestion would be to zip tie the cable in place to make it easier to install. 

Plastic window trim that was removed to hid CB Antenna cable

Once you reach the front passenger side of the roll bar you can start to remove the plastic trim around the window on the passenger side.  This will allow you to run the cable down the window frame with a nice clean look.  I tucked the cable behind the dash and ran it behind the glove box and out the bottom center of the dash right where I wanted to mount the cb.  Nice and clean.

CB Antenna Cable running behind glove box

Make sure that you secure the cable with zip ties behind the dash to make sure the cable stays in place and doesn’t make contact with anything it shouldn’t be touching.  Now we can move on and install the radio.  I started by examining the fire wall of the jeep.  I found a good location on the divers side footwell just above the clutch pedal where I was able to feed the power wires through.  This will take a bit of effort to push through.  Make sure that you secure the wires where they will not interfere with the pedals and any moving parts under the dash.  Run the cable along the wiring harness against the top of the fire wall in the engine compartment right to the battery.  Use the proper connectors to hook up to the batter and make sure you heat shrink or electrical tape the connectors to the wire.

CB Radio power wires running through the fire wall

Now that all the wires are in place take the CB radio and bracket and line it up to where you want to position it on the consul.  Pre drill the holes for the small screws and secure the mount in place.  Take the wires from the back of the cb and use proper connectors to connect to the power wires.  Find a good location for the mic and pre drill and mount the bracket.  Now you are almost done.

CB Radio wiring 

Now here is where my problems started.  I am telling you this because I couldn’t find out what was wrong with it through just web searching, I had to talk with some friends and do some trouble shooting.  So after I installed everything I went with a buddy to tune our radios.  He was upgrading his cb this weekend and helped with some of my install.  We connected the SWR meter to the antenna and the antenna connector on the back of the cb.  We made sure to have paper and a pen and started with a base line reading.  After getting the base line we took a reading on channel 1 and then channel 40 and found my radio was off the meter.  Not good.  No point in trying to tune it because it was obvious something wasn’t right. 

I went over all the wiring and checked all the connections and finally I went to my avionics technician friend’s house and he asked me right away “where is your antenna ground?”  Since the antenna kit I purchased had limited instructions and did not include a ground I wasn’t under the impression it needed one.  We took some readings and found that the tailgate was not a good location for a ground and I ended up running a ground wire from the mount to a bolt on the back of the passenger side tail light.  This didn’t take much time to do, you just need to remove the light cover and loosen the 3 bolts and secure the ground to one of them.   By this time the long weekend was almost at an end and getting help was becoming more difficult.  For this reason I would highly recommend you do not do this install or any for that matter when you have a time restriction.

CB Antenna with disconnect and ground wire with cable disconnects

After grounding the antenna I went and purchased my own SWR reader and proceeded with the tuning.  FML it’s still off the charts.  Now when I first mentioned the radio antenna and mount kit I purchase, I also said it’s not always the best idea to go the cheap rout.  Just because a kit looks like it’s good value doesn’t mean it is going to work for your application.  Because of all the problems I had and because the antenna in the kit was a 3ft with no proper ground connection, I ended up going to a truck stop and grabbing a 4ft Wilson antenna with a proper ground wire and a tuning screw.  I should have done this right at the beginning but instead I put myself through a lot of aggravation trying to solve multiple problems.  I purchased an antenna disconnect since I was now going with a larger antenna and I still needed to take into consideration underground parking.  I mounted the disconnect by simply screwing it onto the antenna mount and then securing the other end to the new antenna.  I used two wire connectors, a male and female end and connected one end to the ground on the body and the other to the ground on the antenna.  This was to allow me to disconnect the ground easily when needed.  I put it all back together, hooked up the SWR meter and to my surprise I got a good reading right off the bat. 

Most people will tell you that you want a reading at channel 1 and channel 40 as close to 1 as possible.  My avionics friend said that anything between 1 and 1.9 is fine and he was right.  I used the tuning screw and made one small adjustment and I was good to go.  My antenna reads 1.2 at channel 1 and 1.6 at channel 40.  I have only used the radio once on the trail so far and it has been great.   Easy to use and had great range.

Final product (dont mind the mess i just got back from wheeling)

So now that I have shared all my knowledge about cb radio installation I hope that some of you will benefit from my experience.  It is important to remember that purchasing the right equipment is really more important than purchasing the best value.  In my situation if I just went with the good stuff from the beginning I would have saved lots of time and some money.  So now everyone get out there and start planning, your next jeep upgrade is just around the corner.